New York Could Be the Perfect Place for Favre's Second Act

One is in the Hall of Fame, and the other is a lock to join him -- if he ever retires. One is regarded by many as the best pure passer who ever lived, and the other is often called the best quarterback ever.

Yet near the end of their careers at about the same age -- one at 40 years old, the other nearing 39 -- neither Sonny Jurgensen nor Brett Favre was wanted by the teams with which they achieved their greatest fame.

"George Allen told me I was too much of a luxury for the Redskins to have," said Jurgensen, who turns 74 on Aug. 23 but still remembers the conversation he had with his coach after the 1974 season.

Jurgensen had assorted injuries his last four years in the league, yet in 1974 he was among the NFL leaders in several passing categories, completing 107 of 167 passes for 1,185 yards and 11 touchdowns. He even engineered a thrilling, last-second 20-17 victory over the defending champion Miami Dolphins, which he remembered this past week as "my Super Bowl."

Now a Redskins radio broadcaster and WRC-TV commentator, Jurgensen followed Favre's 31-day saga closely, watching the Packers rid themselves of a quarterback who in 16 seasons in Green Bay had set NFL records for consecutive starts (253), touchdown passes (442), completions (5,377) and passing yards (61,655). The team said it was "moving on" from their briefly retired star, whom they said lacked commitment to play for the Packers.

So Favre is now a New York Jet, trying to duplicate successful second acts by Joe Montana, who took Kansas City to the playoffs twice (in 1993 and 1994) after his wonder years in San Francisco, and Y.A. Tittle, who found deliverance late with the New York Giants in the early 1960s after he was dealt by the 49ers.

Favre hopes to avoid the embarrassing fate of Johnny Unitas, a shell of himself in San Diego in 1973 after his Baltimore brilliance, and Joe Namath's dismal 1977 tryout with the Los Angeles Rams.

"I felt I could still play," said Jurgensen, who played 11 seasons in Washington after seven seasons. "But I didn't think I could accomplish anything by going elsewhere. You always believe you'll be intelligent enough to know when to give it up. But you're really not. I had the itch to keep playing; I still get the itch.

"George Allen told me he wanted to go with Billy Kilmer and Joe Theismann [in 1975]. But Kilmer wanted to be traded, and if that happened, George said I could stay. That's when I knew it was over for me. I had to live with it."

As for Favre's fate with the Jets?

"Yes, Brett can still play," Jurgensen said. "Maybe he can adjust. But it won't be the same. It never is."

Game-Day Changes

Fans who took Metro's Orange Line to the Landover station to get to FedEx Field were dealt a blow this week when the team said it no longer could provide the shuttle-bus service. New federal guidelines prohibit public transit agencies from providing charter bus service if private buses are available.